


It's Always Gotta Be You

by BillyShakes



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Just some cute one shots, MariChat could mean Marinette/Chat or Marigold/Chat so like???, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Scarlet Lady AU, We need some names for these love square pairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-08-22 22:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillyShakes/pseuds/BillyShakes
Summary: Short one-shots exploring the dynamic of the Scarlet Lady Au love square!Chapter One: AdrienetteChapter Two: MariChatChapter Three: ChatGoldChapter Four: GoldrienInspired by zoe-oneesama's Scarlet Lady Au





	1. Adrienette

It was just Adriens luck that an akuma decided to attack the night before his physics project was due. Scarlet Lady, of course, was no help as usual and Marigold seemed distracted, meaning he got home just in time to immediately crash before being woken by his alarm all too soon. With a groan, he rolled out of bed and started towards the bathroom rubbing at his eyes.

“Do we really have to get up now?” Plagg whined as he flew up beside Adrien. “I was just having the nicest dream about a new wheel of Camembert and…”

“Not now Plagg, I'll feed you in a second.” The tired blonde grumbled before grabbing his toothbrush. Starting away at his morning routine he paused only to grab some cheese for Plagg, the black kwami much more content and much more quiet after the fact. He started to gather his bag for school, scanning his desk and then pausing in horror at his barely started project.

“That was due today, wasn't it,” Plagg said as he came to hover over Adrien's shoulder. Giving no response other than a long groan he slung his bag over his shoulder and marched for the door. 

“Forget it.” He said as he walked out. “I'll just ask if I can turn it in tomorrow. What's one more zero in the grade book right?” As he came to the bottom of the stairs he held open his overshirt for Plagg before heading out to meet his driver. 

Stating out the window as he drove by his usual route, he felt the same frustration and gloom that he'd come to associate with using his miraculous (well, until Marigold came around) and only seemed to show emotion when he passed by the home of a certain baker's daughter, scanning around to see if she was on her way to school. To his disappointment, there was no sign of the girl, but just seeing the bakery was enough to improve his mood as he sat a little straighter in his seat. 

'She's probably just running late’ he thought fondly as the view of the bakery quickly passed.

Arriving at the school he thanked his driver quickly before slumping up the stairs and heading towards his locker. Putting away his things and grabbing what he needed for class he walked to the classroom and collapsed in his seat.

“Dude you look exhausted.” His friend Nino exclaimed. He glanced up from where his head rested on the desk to his friend who was way to chipper for the kind of morning Adrien was having.

“Finished a photo shoot late.” He said, Nino shaking his head at his go-to excuse. “Barely got any sleep last night.” 

“Lemme guess, didn't finish the project either.” Adrien's only response was a moan of despair. “Dude, you have to talk to your dad about these photoshoots! It's totally crazy bro.” 

“I doubt he’ll do anything about it. I barely go to enough as it is. And they keep getting canceled with all these akuma attacks.” This now was the truth. Since becoming Chat Noir he had convinced his father to cut many of his extracurriculars (except for piano, fencing, and Chinese) and the number of photoshoots he had to do all in the name of “schoolwork”. As long as his grades stayed a little lower than average he could keep using this excuse and, knowing his father, any instance that his grades stay perfect would be enough to add back whatever he saw fit.

“Still, it’s not fair dude. Your grades must be suffering big time.” Adrien just shrugged as the bell rang and he sat up to stretch. A rather large yawn escaped him causing him to scrunch up his face, and when his eyes opened again two bright blue-bell eyes stared back at him.

“You look more tired than usual,” Marinette said with the cutest smile he thought he’d ever seen. A quick once-over of the girl revealed that she was probably just as tired as he was. He noticed slight bags under her eyes, slightly mussed hair (no doubt from sleeping in late and rushing to school), and her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Never the less she still stood in front of him in all her cute, positive glory, a bag of pastries and cup of coffee in hand.

“Yeah,” he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Late night photoshoot.” Her eyes softened and literally melted his heart as she held out the pastries and cup.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got your usual then huh?” She said with a little laugh in her voice. He gratefully accepted the gift and took a long sip of coffee before humming in delight.

“You’re amazing Marinette.” He said, a slight blush on his cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She laughed and her smile seemed to get a little brighter.

“Anything to help a friend.” She said as she walked around to her seat behind him. The word seemed to put a halt on his joy for a second, but he quickly shook off the dread with another sip of coffee and a bite of the croissant she brought him.

If she saw him as only a friend, that was fine. For now. At least it still meant freshly baked pastries and some of the best coffee he’d ever had.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. MariChat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place before Marinette gets her miraculous.

Chat Noir was tired.

Anyone with eyes, or at least anyone not focused on Scarlet Lady, could see that. But never the less the headlines always focused on Scarlet, and never on her black-clad partner who did most of the work. This fact made Marinette mad. No not mad, it made her furious.

“He deserves the credit for saving Paris! Not Scarlet Lady.” She ranted to her best friend as she paced the length of her room. “Everyone is always so focused on her when they should be grateful to Chat for not only saving our lives but also hers on a regular basis.” Alya, not unfamiliar to her “Chat-isodes” as she liked to call them didn’t bother to look up from her laptop, where she was editing some of the footage she shot today to put on the Scar-blog.

“I mean, Evilistrator? All Chat. The Bubbler? All Chat. Even when you where akumatized,” She said at this point slamming the screen of Alya’s laptop closed despite her protests. “That was all Chat Noir. Scarlet Lady just cleans up the aftermath and takes all the credit.”

“Look girl, I get it. You have a major crush on Chat Noir and want him to get a little more spotlight.” At this comment, Marinette started to blush and sputter which made Alya smirk. “But Scarlet Lady is the hero, and Chat Noir is the side-kick. Those are the facts. The hero saves the day and looks good while the side-kick gets kicked around a little and doesn't get a lot of credit.” she shrugged. “That’s just how it is.” Marinette let out a small frustrated groan.

“But that’s what I’m trying to tell you.” She pleaded. “Chat Noir isn’t the side-kick, he’s the hero!” She was about to start another rant when Alya’s phone gave a loud familiar beep, the beep of the Scar-blog being updated about an akuma attack. Alya immediately jumped up and grabbed her phone.

“As much as I would love to listen to you rant about your super-crush,” once again Mari began to stutter, “I can’t miss this. Sorry girl. See you tomorrow!” She said as she grabbed all her things and ran down the stairs.

“Bye Alya. See you to-” she was interrupted by a loud slam of the door. “Morrow.” With a sigh, she sat down at her computer and pulled up the Scar-blog. At least with Alya out filming, she could get some live footage of the cat in action. While pulling up the live blog however a large thud coming from her balcony interrupted her. She stood up and climbed the ladder up to the balcony her eyes widening in surprise at what she saw.

“Ch-Chat Noir?!” She exclaimed in surprise. The cat in question suddenly turned from his crouched position on the guardrail, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Oh, hey there Princess.” The nickname brought a blush to the checks of both teens. “Sorry for dropping in unannounced. But what better place to land when you’re flung half-way across Paris than the roof of a friend?”

“You consider me a friend?” She whispered in somewhat awe. Chat immediately moved from his perch on the rail to stand on the balcony, his eyes nervously darting and his movements suddenly frantic.

“I mean, of course, I do. I thought we were getting pretty close after the whole Evilistrator thing, and all the times I kinda helped save you? Well, I thought I could consider you a friend. As much as a superhero could consider a civilian their friend.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. A rather large explosive noise followed by many cars flying and overturning caught the cat’s attention and he brought the heel of his hand to rap against his skull a few times.

“I let myself get distracted.” He said as he hopped back onto the rail. “Who knows what she’s done while I was gone.” He turned back to look at Marinette as he extended his batton. “See ya later, Princess.” The nickname once again caused her to blush. As he prepared to jump she quickly climbed onto the balcony.

“Chat Noir, wait!” She said rushing up to him. He paused and turned back around to look at her. “I um, uh…” She stuttered. Shaking her head to compose herself she took a short breath. “Be careful, please?” She said, the blush on her cheeks feeling very obvious. Chat gave her a small smile, and before she could decide against it, she quickly pulled him in for a hug. Both girl and superhero seemed to short circuit before Mari pulled away, and Chat prepared to jump again.

“I will Marinette, don’t worry.” He said, giving her one last smile before jumping off to rejoin the fight. When he was out of sight Marinette buried her face in her hands and squealed, her face feeling hot to the touch. When she composed herself she headed back down to her room and headed to the computer to watch the live blog of the attack.

“And it looks like Chat Noir is back on the scene.” Her best friends voice said from the screen. “I wonder what took him so long.”

Marinette simply smiled and admitted only to herself that maybe her best friend was right.

She did have a major crush on Chat Noir.


	3. ChatGold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I read through a whole bunch of stuff for the AU last night and found the rest of the names! This chapter also features some slight Scarlet Lady, but hopefully it doesn't take away to much from these cute dorks. Enjoy!

Being a superhero was hard work. Akuma battles were hard and balancing school and being a superhero was no piece of cake. But Marinette would rather deal with a hundred akumas than one angry Scarlet Lady. But what else did she expect to happen when Scarlet found out that Marigold and Chat did patrol behind her back?

“I can't believe you two have been running around and conspiring against me!” Scarlet said folding her arms and huffing. “We're supposed to be partners.”

“Look Scarlet if you're so mad about us doing patrols without you, just start joining us. We'll happily let you into the rotation.” Marigold said trying not to sound too frustrated. The best way to deal with an angry Scarlet was to stay on the defensive, not unlike how she dealt with a cranky Manon. However, Scarlet just scoffed.

“And why would I want to do that? The whole idea is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” She huffed, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and glowered at Marigold.

“Because we're 'partners’” Chat said boredly, using his claws to make quotation marks. “C'mon Goldie let's just go. If she doesn't want to join she can go home and do whatever it is she does. Besides, she'll just get in the way.” At this remark, Scarlet gasped, but Chat had no reaction as he extended his baton over the roof of the building. Marigold paused for a moment before walking over to Chat. Lowly she said:

“I think we should invite her along.” Chat’s eyes widened and his grip on his staff tightened. 

“Are you serious?” He whispered. “There's no way we'd get anything done with her around.”

“I know, I know. And I get patrolling is kinda y'know,” she gestured between the two of them. “Our thing. But just this once. She's been having a hard time with the press lately and she already thinks we're going to betray her.” She glanced over at the blonde, who had her eyes focused over her shoulder and refusing to look at either of them. “Maybe this will help.” 

Chat sighed and brought his hand to his hair, running his fingers through it slowly before letting his arm fall to his side.

“I hate it when you're right.” He mumbled. While his words suggested frustration and malice his face had a hint of a smile and a certain brightness in the eyes that let Mari know he was only joking. She smiled brightly and patted him on the shoulder before turning back to Scarlet.

“We've decided you can come along.” She said. At this, the blonde scoffed again.

“And like I said before, what makes you think I'd want to do that?” She said glaring at Marigold. Mari simply shrugged.

“Well, the press gets lots of good shots from patrols. And Paris is reassured that their heroes are on the job. Just publicity stuff. Not like you care about that at all.” With this the new hero walked semi-slowly back to Chat, glancing behind her just for a moment to see the conflicted look on Scarlet's face.

“But if you really don’t wanna come along I understand. This kind of stuff is way below Scarlet Lady y'know? Come on kitty, let's go.” She stood on the edge of the building and glanced at Scarlet once more before sending out her top, as she did she heard a frantic 'wait’.

Hook, line, and sinker.

“I'll come. The press can always use more opportunities to see me, the hero of Paris.” She said extending her yo-yo. “Try to keep up extras.” She called as she took off. Mari and Chat exchanged a knowing look before following close behind.

The rest of the night went really well, to the surprise of both Marigold and Chat Noir. They showed Scarlet Lady the usual patrol routes, posed with some fans for pictures, and even helped around with some minor problems around the city. You haven't lived, thought Marinette, until you see Scarlet Lady try to rescue a cat from a tree.

“Well I guess this whole patrol thing isn't a total waste,” Scarlet said now that the three heroes sat back on the rooftop, a bag of sweets that a fan has given them in the middle of them. Mari popped a chocolate into her mouth and hummed in agreement. “Although,” the blonde continued, “Don't expect me to do this all the time. It's only a once in a while thing. For publicity.”

“Publicity. Of course.” Chat said waving her off. “It's good to have you around though, Scar.” He said, starting to test the waters of this strange new friendship.

“That's still Scarlet Lady to you, alley cat.” She quipped though you could hear the faintest hint of teasing in her voice. Scarlet stood and dusted herself off. “Well, I need to get going. I have important stuff to do today. Later, extras!” She called as she zoomed off to who knows where. For a little while, Marigold and Chat sat in content silence before Mari spoke.

“Tonight was fun. And while I agree with Scarlet about not doing all the time, once in a while couldn't hurt.” Chat nodded in agreement as he picked up a chocolate and threw it up, catching it in his mouth.

“As long as it isn't a habit. You weren't wrong when you said patrols were our thing, Goldie.” The cat said as he leaned back to lie on the roof.

Marigold sighed in content. She was a bit sad to leave but just like Scarlet, she had things to do. She stood up and stretched, before walking over to Chat and offering him a hand. He waved her off.

“No thanks, I'm staying out here for a little while.” He said, placing his hands behind his head. Mari giggled and gave him a soft smile.

“Well in that case,” she trailed off. Kneeling down, she gave Chat a quick kiss on the forehead before walking to the edge. She got her top ready and turned back. “Goodnight kitty.” She said and flew off into the night back to her home.

Behind her, she left a very blushy and flustered cat who watched as she disappeared into the night.


	4. Goldrien

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow y'all sorry this took so long to upload high school sucks. Anyway, this will be the last chapter for this particular story but if you want me to write more Scarlet Lady, or just more Miraculous in general make sure to leave a comment ^-^
> 
> (Also how the interact in this one is a bit more awkward, kind of a one-step forward with the last chapter two-steps back with this one. Why is writing for Adrien so hard???)

Adrien sighed as he swirled around in his chair. He decided to be responsible for once and asked Marigold to go on solo patrol today so he could finish his English project. The problem was, no matter how much he tried he could not focus. Not while the urge to transform and run the streets of Paris kept him restless.

“If you knew this was going to happen, why didn't you just go on patrol?” Plagg asked from his perch on Adrien's desk. He munched down a peice of cheese before continuing. “It wouldn't be the first project you failed.” Adrien sighed.

“That’s just it Plagg. I can’t fail this project. My grades depend on it.” He stopped spinning in the chair. “One more bad grade or missing project and I drop to a C, Father would know something is up, and I’ll be pulled from public school.”

“All that over a bad grade?” Plagg said. “Doesn’t seem very fair.” Adrien shook his head.

“It’s not about fair Plagg, Father knows that I’m capable of maintaining my studies with all my extracurriculars. If I get a less than average grade from not putting in any effort he’ll know something’s wrong and then it’ll be this whole lecture about time management and ‘if you have time to waste not doing your work you have time for photoshoots’ and blah blah blah.” He huffed standing from the still moving chair and pacing over to the window.

Plagg made a compelling argument, it wasn’t fair. And he should just go out on patrol. He signed as he leaned his head against the window. Too bad his fear of losing this small bit of freedom he had outweighed his urge to ignore his school work. Looking up to take one last longing glance he took a double take when he saw the familiar pigtails of a yellow and black-clad superheroine. Knocking on the window slightly he watched to see if she turned around, repeating the action slightly louder when she didn’t and then waving when she turned towards the sound.

Marigold paused and pointed at herself to clarify that the knock was intended for her.

‘No,’ he thought sarcastically ‘It’s for the identical superhero right next to you’ but he just nodded and gave a little wave.

Tentatively, she waved back to him before pulling out her top and zipping away. He smiled before turning to head back to his seat, only getting a few steps away from the window when he heard a knock behind him. Turning back around he did a quick double take to confirm that yep Marigold was definitely at his window.

Rushing back over he opened the window next to her.

“Marigold? What are you doing here?” He asked. “I mean- why’d you come back?”  
“Well,” she said rubbing the back of her neck. “Patrol is getting a little boring, and I thought since you waved you probably wanted a little more than just a wave back. And I have a little bit of time to kill,” she trailed off a bit before shrugging. “So why not?”

At this Adrien broke out into a smile. He really did have an amazing partner. Here she was taking time out of her (supposedly) busy schedule of protecting Paris to give a fan a bit of one-on-one attention.

“So… do you wanna come in?” He asked gesturing to his room. “It’s probably nicer than hanging off a ledge.” She gave him a kind smile.

“Sure.” 

Adrien moved away from the window to let the bee hero into the room. Once she was in safely he shut the window soundly behind her. At this point, the awkwardness began to set in, as both parties were at a loss at what to do next. Looking back over to his desk he stared at his unfinished project.

“You any good at Language Arts?” He asked, sheepishly. “I have a project due tomorrow and I’m blanking hard.” Marigold laughed and started to walk over to his desk.

“Only if you’re good at physics. We have this homework assignment that's driving me crazy.” As she said crazy she tangled her hands in her hair and motioned like she was going to pull it all out. Adrien laughed and followed after her.

“Yeah, I think I can help with that.”


End file.
